Our Mission

I'm Louise Fletcher. As President of Blue Sky Resumes my mission is to help people take charge of their job search, build confidence and advance their careers. I founded Career Hub to further that mission by connecting job seekers with the best minds in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

I'm Chandlee Bryan. As a career coach and resume writer with experience from Manhattan to Main Street, I help job seekers connect with opportunity by sharing news, trends and best practices. I'm the Managing Editor of Career Hub and run Best Fit Forward, a boutique career management firm.

Are you watching "The Bachelor?" I haven't watched it for years until a couple of weeks ago when I stumbled upon a television scene that looked remarkably like Des Moines, Iowa and lo and behold – it was! Then I discovered this year’s “Bachelor” is from Iowa. On that particular episode, Chris Soules and his entourage were in Des Moines at the West End Salvage, among other places. The end of the show that evening was a teaser for what was yet to come the following Monday night: Will Jade reveal her dark secrets?

And yes, she did.

And yes, she did not get a rose.

And yes, "The Bachelor" walked her to the limo. Bye-bye.

The whole scenario got me to thinking about a job candidate’s “dark secrets” and what to say, what not to say in an interview. I was reminded of a line attorney/law enforcement clients have referenced through the years during practice interview sessions:

Who knows why Jade didn’t get a rose. Maybe it had everything to do with her past and maybe it had nothing at all to do with it -- much like employers making decisions about candidates interviewing for a job. Who knows why one candidate is in and the other is out.

When you go to a job interview, do you talk too much? Do you say too much? Do you tell all? Do you tell the truth? How do you know when enough information is enough? Do you have “dark secrets” that have kept you from getting a job? Or, have you just “put it out there” with transparency and openness and whatever happens, happens?

If you are job hunting and have “secrets” from your past, how have you dealt with them in a job interview? What tips might you offer job candidates on how to manage pieces of your past you’d rather not talk about?

Let’s say you are getting sued by your employer for breaking your non-compete. Know what to do next?

Let’s say you want to re-roof your residence? Know how to do that?

Let’s say you want to serve cake on your wedding day? Know how to bake it?

While many tasks are of a do-it-yourself (DIY) variety, for some, trying to write a first-class résumé is akin to shingling your own house, fixing your own tooth, representing yourself in court, repairing your own car, or baking your own wedding cake. Could you possibly do all of these things? Perhaps. Or perhaps it makes more sense in the long run to engage the services of someone who knows what they are doing – be it roofing, résumé writing or whipping up a wedding cake.

Here is a specific story to illustrate how one man’s résumé writing stress was transformed into résumé writing success – just like that. While I could share hundreds of similar stories, the following résumé writing story is one of my favorites. “Benjamin” owned a profitable business here in the Midwest. He decided after 25+ years of business ownership that he wanted to move to a warmer climate. As part of the job search process, he built a résumé from an online template. No problem. His daughter, a bright young college student majoring in English reviewed it, followed by a once-over by a few trusted colleagues. No problem.

He submitted his résumé via U.S. mail to the hiring manager. His qualifications, in his opinion, perfectly matched the employer’s requirements. When he did not hear back from the company, he followed up to see if the job was still open. It was. And to him, that was a problem. A Chamber contact referred him to me for “an opinion” on his résumé. We didn’t do a couple of minor changes – we did a total overhaul of his existing résumé document. He resubmitted the new résumé to the same hiring manager and the very day it was received, Benjamin got a phone call: “When can you be here to interview with us?” He did not mention the prior résumé submission, nor did the hiring manager bring it up. Bottom line, the newly created résumé opened the door just like that and ultimately, Benjamin got the job.

Can you do your own résumé? Sure. Absolutely. No question about it.

Can your DIY résumé generate results for you? I certainly hope so!

Perhaps, though, if your DIY résumé is not working for you, maybe you will do what Ben did. Ask around. Get a referral. Fix your résumé. Snag an interview. And get hired -- sometimes, just like that!

I love the conversations I have with clients. I love the questions they ask -- questions such as: “So, what are some good qualities of a job seeker?” If you had to create a job description for today’s job seeker, how would you write it? What would you include? Here are some thoughts – what do you think?

TITLE: Job Seeker

Position Type: Full Time, M-F -- frequent wknds.

Job ID/Tracking Code: URIT24-7

Job Requirements:

High sense of urgency, focused, goal-driven professional who is unstoppable in exploring opportunities that meet/exceed expectations.

Proficient in letting go of thoughts/things holding you back or keeping you stuck.

Ability to name that which keeps you awake at night and identify a coping mechanism to better manage it.

Remains calm under pressure and appears comfortable in responding to behavioral types of questions and/or random questions such as “If you were a horse, what kind would you be and why” and/or “If a computer forensic expert investigated your laptop, what is the worst thing she will uncover?”

Performs timely follow-up with employers and remains in contact throughout the duration of the interview cycle, inception to completion.

Must be confident, collaborative and affable in conversations with boards, hiring managers, human resources, recruiters, owners, key decision makers, stakeholders, partners and all other levels of personnel, entry to executive level.

Must be a quick, agile, analytical and decisive thinker in responding to a broad array of comments/questions from multiple individuals and sources.

Establishes a brand/brand message to optimize brand awareness and open new doors of opportunity.

Can readily grasp the concept of Applicant Tracking systems used in the hiring process.

Remains in a constant state of preparedness and readiness to discuss your personal brand and value proposition to maximize opportunities and offers.

Maintains job search equipment: mobile devices, landlines, computers, and tablets in pristine working condition. Will also employ the use of writing instruments, notepads, and personally branded business cards as needed.

Must possess professional attire suitable for multiple interviews with the same organization.

Will identify a work area in which to conduct job search activities, free of interruptions and distractions, to afford peak performance on a daily basis.

Must avoid smoking / drinking alcoholic beverages before and during an interview.

Well-versed and authentic in delivering a genuine response to FAQs such as “Tell Me About Yourself.”

Will track and record information/data regarding leads, ideas and networking connections.

Can work independently to achieve desired results and interact as a team member with networks, connections, and contacts.

High tolerance for submitting applications with limited or no response/feedback unless otherwise indicated while preserving a positive demeanor.

Self-directed, self-motivator with a clear sense of self and 100% commitment to the job search process.

Skilled in planning, organizing and executing a state-of-the-art job search campaign to generate opportunities of interest.

Strong work ethic in innovating, initiating and implementing a results-driven career management program which will add value to target organizations.

Suppose that you have been invited to a face-to-face interview after doing a superb job in your phone interview. Suppose that a 15-member selection committee will be present to witness your 60-minute PowerPoint presentation. Suppose that someone you trust suggests removing your large wedding ring that contains two carats of fabulous bling. Suppose that you did, though you wondered why.

Suppose that you are a trial lawyer who has retired. Suppose that you cannot stand the “monotony of doing nothing” (trial lawyer’s words) and that you pursue a job that will get you out of the house and make a few bucks to boot. Suppose that you are wearing a monogrammed shirt and cuff links to an interview for a job paying about $35,000. Suppose that a trusted confidante suggests that you wear a dress shirt minus the monogram and cuff links. Suppose you heed her counsel and immediately snag the job.

Suppose that you are a teenager or college student who wants a job at your local ice cream shop for the summer. Suppose that you roll up in your Mom’s Mercedes for the 20-minute interview. Suppose that the ice cream shop owner asks you the year of your Mercedes and you tell him it’s new. Suppose that the shop owner says he is going to give the job to someone who doesn’t drive a Mercedes. Suppose that you drive to another ice cream shop in your brother’s beater car and get offered a job on the spot.

Suppose that you are a successful executive waiting in the prospective employer’s lobby for the hiring manager to greet you for a job interview. Suppose that you are finishing up one of your favorite author’s romantic novels. Suppose you are holding the book in your hands when the Hiring Manager calls your name and offers “Ah, I see you like smut” to which you state you don’t consider that particular author a writer of such. Suppose the interview never gets back on track. Suppose that in your next interview you wait patiently for the manager to welcome you – no controversial book in hand.

Suppose that you received a new bottle of the hottest cologne of the season for your birthday. Suppose that you went to a job interview and the corporate recruiter asked “So who are you wearing” to which you replied the name of a clothing line. The recruiter tells you he is not talking about your attire, he is talking about your cologne and oh, by the way, the hiring manager is allergic to a lot of scents – gets a nasty headache.

Planning on looking for a new job in 2015? Here's the one word to keep top of mind:

ONLINE

O:Over 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source and vet candidates | Over 80% use social media sites like Facebook or Twitter to rule applicants OUT

N:Neglect building your online footprint at your peril | Unless you have a robust online footprint, you will be disadvantaged in the job search over candidates who do

L:Love your job and want to keep it? Stay abreast of the trends in your industry, keep learning to keep up, and watch the career moves and ongoing training of your peers online

I: Innovate on the job so you can write about it in your LIP (LinkedIn profile), on your website, in tweets, on Facebook, or display it on Youtube and Pinterest | Bring something distinctive to the table

N:Never give up the job search! There is always something you haven't tried in the world of online job search | There's also a world of potential contacts and ways to connect with hiring managers and employees online

E:Engage with people in your function or industry space online by responding to their online activity and getting the word out about your professional interests

Want to get started? Go beyond your executive resume. Build your LIP to 100% complete. Go to About.me and build your profile there. Then go to ZoomInfo and do it again. After that, you can be endlessly creative in building your brand through words, pictures, slides, videos, and infographics on many different sites.

Want to also try something new? Explore SwitchApp.com by Apple - very cool. And keep an eye on LinkedIn's new acquisition: Bright. Also: Wiseword, RaiseYourFlag, and CareerSushi. Good luck!

Recently, one of my clients asked: “So are there any specific questions you could give me that would help me think about what career I “should” pursue at this point? Before meeting you, I took some tests/assessments and so far, I am still confused.” I have been thinking about “Jed’s” question since he asked it. Listed below are 35 questions for you to consider if you are in the midst of a career transition:

What do you most like to do in the workplace?

With whom do you prefer to work?

Where do you prefer to live geographically?

What are your best skills?

What type of work interests you?

What have you always wanted to do workwise?

What, if any, additional training would you like to pursue?

Of the many skills you possess, which do you like the best and enjoy the most?

Describe your ideal job in detail.

Describe your ideal “boss.”

What are your salary expectations?

What is the going rate for your skillset (per three reliable resources).

What are your primary interests?

What values define you?

What needs some work as it relates to you and your brand?

How did you get from there to here in your career?

In the 7th grade, how did you answer this question: When I grow up, I want to be a ____________.

In high school, how did you answer this question: When I grow up, I want to be a ______________.

If you attended technical school/college/graduate school, how did you answer this question: When I grow up, I want to be a _________________.

And now, as an experienced worker, what is your response to this question: When I grow up, I want to be a _______________________.

Looking back, what, if anything, might you have done differently?

What choices are you struggling with/wresting with now?

If you could “start over” this very minute, what would you do?

What are the biggest concerns an employer will have about your current credentials?

If you could wave a magic wand and voilà, do the job of your dreams, what would you be doing and what job title would appear on your new business card?

If an employer asked you to submit a “tweet bio,” what would yours say?

If you attended a 250-person dinner party and presented a speech titled I Need Your Help Finding a New Opportunity as a (an) ___________________(job title) using these skills: 1. ____________ 2. ___________ 3.____________4.______________ 5.___________________ in the city/state of _______________________________ with an employer involved in the ___________________ industry, what would attendees hear from you?

Example: I Need Your Helping Finding a New Opportunity as an Outplacement Consultant using skills of 1. Career Counseling 2. Training 3. Resume Writing 4. Public Speaking and 5. Interview Coaching in Houston, Texas with an employer involved in the energy industry.

With crayons and paper, draw your ideal job and give your drawing a caption/job title. What, if anything, have you learned about yourself?

Here is a question for you: can you guess four of the most powerful words in a job search? From the following choices, A, B, C, or D, which answer would you choose as the correct one?

A. Will you hire me?

B. What is the problem?

C. Give me a break.

D. None of the above.

So, which answer did you choose: A, B, C, or D? While all four answers could be said at some point in your search, I’d go with D – none of the above. And here’s why. After working with hundreds and hundreds of job seekers, I have come to believe with a vast amount of conviction that four of the most powerful words in job search are these: I need your help.

I need your help is something that – according to many job seekers I have helped -- requires courage. And humility. And vulnerability. It requires setting aside pride and ego – for the moment, anyway – to say words you might not want to say as a job seeker: I need your help.

As a counselor to those in career transition, clients have taught me that it takes much courage to state with clarity and confidence: I need your help. When I inquire as to why it takes so much courage and humility to say “I need your help,” I am often told that “a weak person says such things – not a strong person.”

“I don’t want to be perceived as a weak candidate.”

“I don’t want people to think less of me.”

“I don’t want people to think I am a loser or something.”

“I don’t want people to think I don’t have it together.”

Today is the day to forget about pride and ego and weakness and being a loser. Today is the day to reach out to those in your network and say with sureness and certainty: I need your help.

Getting ready to blast your résumé into the black hole of cyberspace? Wonder if your résumé will get noticed? Wonder if anyone, anyone will pay any attention to your story?

Here are five very specific questions to ask yourself before you send your résumé to anyone – whether it’s your Mama, your BFF, your lawyer or a prospective employer:

1. Will the reader know within one second your pertinent contact information?

Yes_____ No_____

2. Will the reader know within one second what you want to do occupationally?

Yes_____ No_____

3. Will the reader know within three seconds why you are a strong contender for the job?

Yes_____ No_____

4. Do you love your existing résumé?

Yes_____ No_____

5. Is your résumé visually appealing?

Yes_____ No_____

If you answered “yes” to the five questions stated above, you are good to go. However, if you cannot answer a definitive “yes” to these five basic questions, back to the drawing board for further revision of your résumé.

In short, make it easy for the hiring manager to connect with your presentation. The easier you make it for readers to grasp you and your story within seconds, the likelier it is you will achieve the results you desire.

Transitions…mind benders for sure, though I have not seen mind+bender associated in any literature to describe transitions.

For me, 2014 was a year of transition. Our youngest daughter and I were counting the number of people close to us that we lost: 14. 2014 was filled with move-outs, move-ins and relocations. Transitions – the kind where you step up and do what you don’t want to do – put your precious mother into nursing home care because it is what is needed, not what is wanted. Transitions – when you watch your spouse and his business partner sell a business that they started three-plus decades ago and decide that it’s time to move on.

I thought I knew quite a bit about this thing called transition, though I must say I have found myself wondering if I really know much at all. Teaching is one thing; experiencing yet another. Facts are one thing; emotions quite another. Transition -- it seems so much easier to talk about it than to live it and breathe it. And while my word for 2014 was equanimity, in hindsight, perhaps “transitions” would have been a more accurate word choice to represent the year. As this New Year gets underway, the word “resilience” is lingering here with me. Though that is not the one word I chose for 2015, it is a solid word. Maybe it will be my back-up word just in case my present pick doesn’t work out or something. Or maybe you will like the word resilience enough to choose it as your one word for the year.

In 2015, I wish you enough resilience to carry you through the transitions of life, sprinkled with a heap of halcyon and a dash of equanimity as you find your way forward.

Last week I attended a celebration of life service for a very special man. It was a sad, sad occasion. Even though it was stated by a family member that the service was to be a celebration of life, I didn't see anyone celebrating. I saw (and felt) sadness, grief, pain and loss. Even though I didn’t know the person well, I knew what a gifted individual he was. Listening to his friend share a tribute, a story unfolded of a remarkable individual who had been given a truly extraordinary gift…the sort of gift some compared to a renowned virtuoso. The speaker continued his tribute by saying “then life got in the way.”

As I drove back to my office, I noticed I had written “life got in the way” on the celebration of life leaflet. The words made me think of the countless number of clients I’ve met through nearly three decades in private practice – clients whose otherwise stellar careers were humming along until one day, life showed up and

…alcohol got in the way.

…bankruptcy got in the way.

…gambling got in the way.

…drugs got in the way.

…getting picked up one too many times for drunk driving got in the way.

…going to prison got in the way.

...getting kicked out of college got in the way.

…telling the boss to go "bleep yourself" got in the way.

…watching porn at work got in the way.

…performing unethical business practices got in the way.

…surrendering a professional license got in the way.

…falsifying credentials got in the way.

…embezzling got in the way.

..._________________ (fill-in-the-blank) got in the way.

As the New Year approaches, perhaps there’s no better time than now to consider what, if anything, I am allowing to get in the way of being my best self in 2015.

Let’s say you are going through a nasty divorce and your lawyer (and/or soon-to-be ex) advise you that you need to “get a job” – a “real one.” Let’s say that you have been a stay-at-home Mom for 30 years, a wife for 30+ years and that your job has been to run the household while your husband “the big bread winner who always calls the shots” and “makes all the money” wants to get “this transition thing wrapped up as soon as possible.” (The words in quotes represent language clients have used to describe their particular situation). So, where do you begin the process of getting a job given that you have been the stay-at-home professional for three decades? Here are a few thoughts for you to consider:

Do not whip up a résumé first – do a résumé last, once you have undergone an assessment of your KSAs. Once you have determined your target job goals, then you are in a better position to build a customized résumé to showcase your story.

Know your KSAs before you go to market and promote yourself and your skillset. K stands for knowledge; S stands for skills and A stands for abilities. At any time during the process of looking for a job, someone, somewhere may ask you to describe your KSAs. Know them. Name them. Own them. Articulate them to the hiring manager. Be well prepared to discuss your credentials with your network, recruiter or hiring manager.

Get familiar with O*net Online – the coolest resource ever! Let’s say you have always thought about being a paralegal, though you have no clue what a paralegal does. Voilà – O*net Online to the rescue! Dwell there for a while. Get familiar with the language of your occupation of interest. To do otherwise is to do yourself a disservice.

Take a few career assessments. There are assessments that are “free” and assessments for a “fee.” Once you have taken a few, make notes of what you have learned and discovered.

Consider your confidence. If you say you have zero confidence, ask yourself what task might you do to enhance your confidence level? For starters, practice talking about yourself. If you have no human available to help you practice, practice on your own. Stand before a mirror and practice your lines. Learn your lines. Know your script. Fake it till you make it. Act the part. Do whatever it takes to get comfortable speaking about the product you. Do not interview in a state of ill-preparedness. Know your stuff!

Do not wilt and melt when rejection hits you in the face (or greets you in an email). Thank you for applying to our company; please know that you have not been selected to move forward in the process. Wishing you continued success.” Brands attract and brands repel; find someone who thinks your brand is awesome and is willing to pay a fair rate for it! Some employers will love you and others – not so much!

Do not tell yourself there are no jobs. Do not listen to people who tell you there are no jobs. Somebody, somewhere is getting hired and it might as well be YOU!

Do not speak negatively of yourself. Speak well of yourself; respect yourself and your brand. Use positive words to describe yourself. If you don’t, who will?

“If you can take it; you can make it.” Watching a movie trailer about Angelina Jolie’s new movie, I scribbled that line from the movie on a piece of paper. Translated, if you can take all the junk and debris that come with transition (of any variety), you will be fine – which according to The Italian Job, fine = freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional! Just keep telling yourself that you are fine!

Do not be intimidated by anyone or everyone. Remember, the person who is interviewing you is a real person – a real human who has “stuff” going on in his or her life as well. Present the very best of you when you get a chance to shine. Do not speak about your personal situation; keep the conversation professional! Stand up for yourself. Be an advocate for yourself. If you don’t, who will?

Flying home from Charleston last evening, the stranger next to me asked me what I did for a living. I told her and we talked about our careers for a bit. The conversation moved from occupations to Thanksgiving. I told the stranger the following story as it was fresh in my head and in my heart.

Once upon a time last Saturday, a handful of people – mostly Millennials except for me, the lone Baby Boomer, traveled to a house in rural South Carolina. A house that was falling apart. A house that had a screened in front porch minus the screens. A house with broken windows and doors. A house that some would have condemned long ago. A dilapidated house that was home to seven people…six children I’m guessing between the ages of five and 13, their loving grandmother and one pit bull. A house with holes in the walls from being kicked out or punched out for one reason or another. A house that was filled with debris, dog feces, dirty clothing, cockroaches, stench, filth, laughter and love. The grandmother was in a robe – it was about 10:00 A.M. when we arrived. The care project was divided into work that needed done immediately.

Clean the pantry shelves, remove debris and put new boards on the shelving.

Fix the holes in the walls and closets by installing new drywall.

Paint walls.

Fix roof.

Install new screens on the front porch.

Hang new blinds in all the windows of the house.

Clean – everything and everywhere.

Throw out junk and debris.

The task I was initially assigned was to help clean the pantry area and get it into a condition where the family would know what food they had – or didn’t – and provide some semblance of organization. Once that task was completed, I was then asked to go into the grandmother’s room to clear a path so the new blinds could be installed.

I enlisted the help of one of the boys – for the sake of this post, I’ll call him Sport – he told me he liked sports and rattled off his favorite teams. I asked him if he had ever heard of the state of Iowa or The University of Iowa Hawkeyes – nope, he had not. I thanked him for his honesty and for not confusing Iowa with Ohio or Idaho. Our work together continued. He picked up garbage about two feet deep along side of the bed and tossed it into the large black sack I was holding, then we traded tasks. I would sweep, scoop and dump as he held the sack. We found a pretty bracelet, a one dollar bill, Winnie the Pooh and assorted children’s books, among other things.

As we worked together, we chatted. Sport and I hauled the first of many sacks of garbage out through the yard. I told him I was afraid of the pit bull and he told me not to be. I asked him to walk with me and be my protector – and he did. I held onto Sport’s arm while we passed by the pit bull. As we walked back to the porch to continue our project, I said, “Sport, let’s assess – let’s assess our work so far – yes, let’s make an assessment.” He asked me what assess and assessment meant. I said, “you know at school, Sport, when you take a test. Well, that is an assessment of what you have learned – a review of what you have learned I guess you could say.”

Sport laughed – he thought it was cool to say assess and assessment. “Let’s make an assessment” he stated. And we did. We assessed that we had completed the task of clearing the debris by the bed and that we were ready to do something else of the cleaning variety.

Early afternoon, it was time to go. Sport wanted to know if I would be coming back. I told him I was heading home to Iowa soon and would not be back. As I walked towards the car, I turned to see Sport as he tossed his football in the air. He was smiling. I waved goodbye and my eyes filled with tears. Assess. Assess. Assess – no crying!

This Thanksgiving, I am keeping Grandma in the Red Robe, Sport and his brothers and sisters in my thoughts. I am thankful for them. And I think of them. I wonder what Sport is doing now?

I went to Charleston to hang out with family, to see the sites, to shop, to dine and to do the town. While that was fun and fine, what I left with is a story about what matters. A story about giving + thanks. A story about thanks + giving. A story about a little boy named Sport – a story that will stick with me much longer than the Carolina Moon soap, bean soup or Beadah Licken Brownies that I bought at Boone Hall Farms Market. What I came home with is an even deeper sense of gratitude for family, friendships and things that truly matter in life. What I came home with is a story about a little boy with a football, a dust pan and a broom who taught me a thing or three about what’s important and what’s not.

Boston and Masschusetts were honoring the life of Mayor Tom Menino last week. It is said that he had met 60% of Boston's residents and had had a hand in every building project in the city over his 20-year tenure and 5 terms. He was much loved - a man of the people - who loved his city and its people. His accomplishments were many.

One item struck me as the remembrances rolled in on the radioand - though slightly off-topic from what I usually write about here - I wanted to put it out there. It was that he continued to live in his modest house in the city neighborhood he started out in. We are used to seeing big names and their big homes. What does it mean that Mayor Menino did it differently?

These are musings on money and career - on money and values - on money and freedom - on money and retirement. In no particular order, these are thoughts that are prompted, in part, from having worked with so many people over the years at different stages in their careers experiencing those twin concerns of almost everybody: how to make enough money (whatever "enough" means for the individual) and how to be happy.

1. Why is it surprising that a prominant public figure like Tom Menino never felt the need to upgrade his house to match his increasing levels of influence, power, and compensation? Is it necessary to spend and own in keeping with one's level of career advancement? What does it mean when someone steps out of this lock-step advance?

2. What can we infer about Mayor Menino's value system? We can guess that he valued his feeling of home and neighborhood and that he didn't care about house pride and wealth demonstrations.

3. What kind of freedom does owning less in terms of possessions confer upon a person or a family? Is it worth giving up the possible benefits of more comfort, beauty, space, and status in one's property for the ability to live on less and then be able to choose a lower-paying job, if it provides more life satisfaction?

4. When we see celebrities like Mayor Menino and Warrren Buffett - both top practitioners in their respective fields - decline to purchase showy properties, what does it make us feel? It makes me feel that their work is something they do because they were born to do it - they love it and it allows them to be perfectly who they are. And it is not necessary linked to a need for impressive property ownership.

5. As so many baby boomers approach or select retirement, what do the issues of spending and lifestyle during the working years have to do with retirement lifestyle? I expect we will see many creative solutions where, because financial constraints will be the norm, people will develop innovative solutions for housing as well as for how to make those years fun and meaningful. Feeling free to step out of the realm of competition in housing/possessions will become key to retirement "success" for many I would guess.

6. Here is a common pattern I see in my increasingly wealthy town, understanding that this scenario is only avalable to the top few percent. People trade up houses 2 or 3 times to get bigger. more beautiful, or high-status homes. Why did Mayor Menino do it differently?

7. A final thought: since we leave this world with nothing, what part, then, do we want things and money to play in our careers and lifesyles during our brief span of life?

Best wishes for prosperity on your terms. I'd love to hear your thoughts. And thanks, Tom Menino, for your amazing contributions and for prompting these musings!

The reason she asked, she reported, is that “everyone claims to be an expert today” and it is really confusing to a job seeker to know who is and who is not an “expert.”

When I googled “job search experts” I found 265,000,000 results in .48 seconds.

While I am not an expert on knowing which one single word represents a higher rank than expert, I appreciated my client’s question. Here are some words I plan to share with her with this week. Which one strikes your fancy to represent a category greater than “expert?”

Watching a segment on 60 Minutes with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters prompted me to write this blog post. As I watched the story, I heard myself shouting “yes, yes, yes!” when he was talking about doing something you love. And he happens to love music and that’s exactly what he does. He did music before he became a rock star and he still does music now that he is one.

I recall struggling years ago with what to do next in my career. I had a really good job, was making decent money and some thought I was one lucky duck. It wasn’t so much that I disliked my job; I simply did not want to do that job any more. Though others thought it was the perfect job for me, I did not.

The perfect job is one you like – not what someone else likes for you.

The perfect job is one that suits you best.

The perfect job is one that fits you well today – not yesterday.

The perfect job is one you think about with eagerness, optimism and enthusiasm, not dread, disdain and disenchantment.

The perfect job is one you can’t wait to get to on a daily basis.

I recall going to a recruiter when I was struggling with what was next for me in the world of work. I like recruiters. When I was looking for a job, I always had good luck with them. One day, the recruiter I was visiting asked me to come to work for him. I told him that while I appreciated his confidence in me, my heart was set on graduate school and starting my own business. It was also the preposition that made me pause…”I want you to come to work FOR me.” What I didn’t hear was “I want you to come to work WITH me.” For and with – two very different words with two very different outcomes.

And to this day, I still remember what he said next.

“Starting your own business is a very bad idea – you will fall flat on your face and then you will wish you would have gone to work for me.”

Right then and there as I left his office, I knew that no matter how long it took, how hard it was or the many challenges ahead, I knew with certainty what I was going to do.

If you are thinking about starting a business because that’s what is in your head and in your heart and you simply can’t stop thinking about it – pay attention.

You don’t need to wait for someone to give you permission to start a business. You give yourself permission. That’s it; that’s all. You do not need to latch on to someone else’s negativity – the someone who tells you what you can’t do. (I am not talking about all of the legal/accounting/compliance matters requisite to going into business – I am talking about finding the courage to go and do your own thing.)

And when and if you decide that being in business is not for you, so be it.

There’ll always be something else for you to do – have skills, will travel.

Someone who knows me well recently gave me a super-special gift. And no, it wasn’t flowers, it wasn’t a box of chocolates, it wasn’t a top-selling career book or a fine pen or fancy paper – nothing of the sort. It was a perfect gift for me: a sheet of Janis Joplin stamps from the United States Postal Service. Now some might say what a silly, ridiculous gift. To me, it means everything, though, because it speaks to how well the person giving the gift knows me.

I love my Janis Joplin stamps! I thank the USPS for making them! And most of all, I have always loved Janis Joplin and her music. As I looked at the stamps, I paused a moment to think about the Kozmic Blues legend. Wonder how she would counsel a job seeker of today? Wonder if she would speak about…

Do you have an interview coming up in the next few days? Have you been invited to meet the Hiring Manager for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Did HR arrange the meeting and you have no clue what the person who will be interviewing you looks like?

In a recent interview practice session with a client, I invited her to share something about her upcoming interview. She advised that she would be meeting the president of the company for lunch and had no inkling what he looked like – how will I know it’s him? In three seconds via a Google search, voilà, we found a photo of the executive and she now knows what he looks like; no more wondering.

Here are three specific ways to discover a person’s appearance before your face-to-face interview, whether you are meeting off-site for coffee, lunch or dinner or at the employer’s on-site location.

1. Investigate to see if the person is a LinkedIn member. If so, and there is a photo, you will have your answer. (Not all photos used in social media are current, so use your imagination and keep an open mind). Do not say, “Oh, your picture doesn’t look like you” or “Wow, I hardly recognize you” -- definitely not your best icebreaker strategy.

2. Visit the company's website. Often, photos of the leadership team will be displayed on their corporate site.

3. Conduct a Google images search to see what, if anything, you may find of value in determining a person’s appearance.

Just as you have spent time checking out your “corporate date” (interviewer) most likely he or she is doing the same thing. Can you be found online in fewer than five seconds?

Is this you? Do you find that the pressures of day-to-day work and home responsibilities keep you from doing what you need to do to get a good job fast in the future?

I think that would describe the vast majority of us. It's human nature to pay attention to what is front of us rather than what's down the road. It's also human to choose pleasures in the present (completing current projects) over pleasures down the road (getting a job fast when you want to leave your company or you get laid off).

This phenomenon is experienced by everyone who has ever tried to diet, eat more healthily, get in shape, buy less, save money for retirement, build job skills for the future, complete a degree etc.

I have no silver bullet to help us overcome this bias towards short term thinking and immediate rewards over long term planning and future benefits. What I do have is one way to approach working for rewards in the future that seems to help.

So let's shift our goal. We have to let go of expecting perfection in switching to long term thinking. A "good enough" outcome would be to make the changes you can and not to be discouraged if you don't make all the ones you know you should.

For example, let's list the "ideal" activities that will position you optimally to get your next job fast and the next one after that:

Regularly make comments or start discussions on the most active LI groups you belong to

Get started on Twitter and tweet valuable content

Automate your tweets to post to LI and Facebook to help with SEO (search engine optimization) when your name is Googled or searched for

Start a blog on Wordpress.com to exercise and establish your thought leadership and add one post a week

Expand your blog into a personal website

Connect with alumni events and online forums

Make connections with people in any group you are a member of: religious organization, sports organization, clubs, networking groups, professional associations etc.

For every person you meet, consider it your goal to give back: find out what matters to them and how you can help them with a referral or a piece of content that might be helpful

Regularly communicate up, down, and across your organization about what you've been working on to promote your personal brand with future networking contacts; do this with vendors and clients and other contacts as well

Have frequent coffees or lunches with contacts

Use a contact management system that will cue you when you're due to reach out to an important contact; reach out on a regular basis, even if only by email, asking them how they're doing and perhaps including a helpful content link

2. Grow your professional capabilites in the direction of future job markets, to the extent you can discern it

Get the new hot certifications in your space

Work towards in-demand new degree

Volunteer to work on projects at work that will expand your skill set and knowledge base

Keep on top of trends and what's going on in your field by following the best blogs and following thought leaders on Twitter

Make sure you know what your personal brand is and have incorporated it into all your marketing communications

It certainly would be awesome to do all these things for your career! Doing them would without a doubt help you get a better job faster when the time comes. But sometimes looking at lists like these can seem so daunting that you end up doing nothing at all.

So is there a middle ground? Something between perfection and stagnation? Only you can define where that space is. It would go along with the concept of "good enough." You've probably heard it. It's a phrase that allows us be imperfect but still good. Statements like, "I'm a good enough worker, father, runner, golfer, person etc." takes away the perfectionism that can be paralyzing.

Every week or so he goes onto his top social media sites and does one thing on each: an update on LI, a tweet on Twitter, a comment on Facebook, a comment in a LI group etc.

Every quarter he sends out an update with an offer to talk on the phone or help with referrals to the top people on his contact list

He takes a rainy Sunday afternoon soon to go to wordpress.com, set up a basic blog, and post his resume on one of the other pages

Then he picks up his personal website/blogsite project in a few weeks and adds another page, maybe a list of project highlights with quantified results

Once a month he reaches out to three people he remembers from college or from a certification course; maybe he calls a colleague that left the company awhile back, all with an eye to the idea of "givers gain"

Granted, these activities are not as broad-ranging and rich as the suggestions on the lists above. But they protect you from the despair that can happen when you fall short of perfectionistic expectations. And, doing some things, if not all of them, gives you the good feeling that you are moving ahead, not just staying in the present dreading the moment when the layoff is announced or when you get too fed-up to stay.

So start today in some small way to be a "good enough long term career planner," and give yourself credit and a reward! Food? Dinner out? Clothes? Night at a B&B? Good luck!

As a Boston resume writer and Certified Executive Resume Writer who has been active in the executive resume writing field for 21 years, I am now writing a radically different kind of resume. I call it The Executive Keyword Resume. It has evolved in response to two major systemic trends:

1. Almost all resumes are now processed electronically by ATS - Applicant Tracking Systems - and will only be viewed by a recruiter if the exact keywords are present in the resume, preferably in context. Additionally, competition is fierce due to almost universal Internet use and availability of massive data sets of qualified workers on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other sites. This fact drives the reality that only resumes containing all or most of the required keywords will ever be seen. No more is it good enough to simply use the main keywords for your field.

2. The time typical recruiters actually spend viewing a resume is now 5-6 seconds - I use the word "viewing" because "reading" is simply not the activity that is occurring! Recruiters focus on just a few areas: job titles, company names, dates, education, and key skills or areas of knowledge. Visually, are those areas the ones that stand out in your resume? Also, do you have a resume that looks familiar to a recruiter, that is, has the right standard headings for sections, information in the expected places, and traditional reverse chronological format? Summary at beginning is OK if so titled. But forget about functional resumes!

What does this mean for you? Simply this: there is no point in writing your resume in preparation for a job search. There is only a point in writing one particular resume for one specific job opening. Applying to 10 different jobs? You need 10 different resumes. And each resume you write has to pass the formatting test above in #2 as well.

The only exception to this rule is if you want a general resume to hand to a contact as a networking tool and don't have a specific opportunity in mind. I call this type an Executive Networking Resume. I make sure this resume has relevant keywords too, even though you can only guestimate them without an actual job requisition.

But this resume isn't the one that counts! Even if the networking resume ends up in the hands of HR and there is a job that might be a good match, it will be scanned into the ATS. Again, it will still be subject to comparison electronically with resumes that have the greatest number of exact keyword matches in context for the job in question. And yours surely won't be one of them. You cannot guess the exact keywords a job ad will contain.

I write IT executive resumes. As an executive resume writer in Massachusetts, a hub for high tech jobs, I work with a lot of clients who want to apply to 4 or 5 excellent job openings right away. A new part of what I do is identity the specific keywords and phrases in each job ad. I show my clients how to do this on their own so that they can independently proceed once we have done a couple together. And I can tell you that not only do the keywords differ from ad to ad, so does the title (and the title in the ad is most definitely a keyword!), even if the job responsibilities are roughly the same.

To find out how to write a resume that works with ATS see my earlier post. Other content in this blog will help you write your keyword resume and develop a personal brand that will help you stand out and give you a competitive advantage.

The takeaway here is: don't just write a resume, write a specific Executive Keyword Resume for any job you really want!

I love working with clients! They are always teaching me something and giving me ideas for yet another blog post. Today, for example, my client was remarking how he liked people to “get to the point” and not dilly-dally around and waste his time, especially at a job interview.

Maybe you are like that; maybe you are not.

Are you interviewing for a job?

Have you been asked the standard “So tell me about yourself?” question to which you replied:

"Well, I am loyal, I am honest and I am hardworking.

I have a lot of experience.

I have a good education and like I said, a lot of experience.

Also, I am a very responsible worker.

And finally, I am very dependable.”

Imagine that you are the Hiring Manager listening to the above response.

Are you impressed? ___ Yes ___No

Are you falling off your chair because you are so enthralled with this response? ___Yes ___No

Does the job seeker stand out in your professional opinion? ___Yes ___No

Would you consider this candidate your Number One contender? ___Yes ___No

As a Hiring Manager, have you heard the above response at least 100 times, if not more? ___Yes ___No

If you are a job seeker, I would encourage you to spend some time building your best response to the “Tell Me About Yourself” question. Here’s one way to do so through three simple steps and three pieces of paper:

On a sheet of paper, write three facts (no longer than a tweet) about your experience, delivering proof as to why you are a standout candidate for the job of interest. Point 1; Point 2; Point 3. If your three tweets do not deliver compelling evidence, keep writing (and thinking) until you come up with your best, most relevant proof.

On the next sheet of paper, write one or two facts (tweets) about your education, certifications and designations – whatever education you have to offer, so the hiring manager doesn’t have to drag this information out of you. Point 4, Point 5.

On another sheet of paper, state five qualities that make you stand out in a positive manner, citing words that a Hiring Manager hasn’t heard 100 times before and words that support your target goal. Point 6.

Do not make the hiring manager work and work and work to get to know you. In short, get to the point. No wishy-washy. No dilly-dally. No shilly-shally. No time to waste. To the point.

One great thing about holidays like Labor Day is the chance to get together with new folks as as well as old friends and family. I met a new person at a party this summer I'd like to tell you about.

A strong-looking woman in a khaki shirt buttoned up to the collar and khaki pants sat next to me at the picnic table. She was there with her husband and son. The food was great, and we chatted on about various things, including her family's involvement in the Boy Scouts of America. I enjoyed speaking with her. She was forthright, firm, and direct.

Later on at the beach party I happened to be talking to one of her relatives. He told me a story I'll never forget. He said this:

"You know Rose is a policewomen, right? (I didn't, but her no-nonsense demeanor made sense now.) Last week she responded to a 911 call and as she was approaching the house she smelled gasoline. Without hesitation she charged in and pulled out a woman and child. Within seconds the house was in flames and the abusive husband was dead."

That's what I call a personal brand story! Anyone who knows it would probably respond to a question like, "Who is Rose?" or "Would you recommend Rose?" by recounting this story. To learn more about personal branding click here.

Most of my technology executive clients don't have direct life-or-death stories, but their brand stories and the C-A-R (Challenge-Actions-Results) success stories that demonstrate their brand are often high-impact in their business environment. Examples include directing information security in a mission-critical financial services environment, managing the EMR (electronic medical records) and technology environment impacting patient outcomes in healthcare, or enabling a company to beat its competitors in terms of time to market with a new emerging technology product or service.

To show you how to write a less dramatic brand story, here's another example with the name and other details fictionalized but the story line true. This is what someone might say when asked, "What does Juan do?"

"Since Juan and I were at Georgia Tech together he's been involved in some cutting edge businesses. First he grew a startup VAR company to compete with the big players in Puerto Rico. Then, he saw the disruptive potential of cloud computing and SaaS in the mid-2000s, before most companies got onboard, and he launched a cloud services company. He was recruited away by X company (F50 well-known brand) to run their S. American sales. He left there to help Y company (early to market with cloud tech) jumpstart their S. American sales. It seems as though Juan is always there where change is happening in tech. Everything he touches turns to gold."

It's a longer and more complex brand story, but one that nevertheless gives the listener a sense of Juan. It has a beginning, middle, and (for now) end. We learn about his attributes, his passions, the universe he plays in, and his value proposition. It tells us he is most likely a fluent Spanish speaker and highly entrepreneurial. He's not afraid to assume and manage risk in fast-changing markets. And he's got a record of success and an ability to predict market trends and act on that insight.

Getting your brand story up on your LinkedIn profile and supporting it with success stories is one of the best marketing moves you can make. Infuse your resume with these brand/success stories as well. Because stories have been demonstrated to be many more times as memorable than simple facts, you are planting in your contacts' minds who you are professionally, your personal brand. Doing so will help you get the top job you want.

Yesterday morning was foggy outside, overcast and in the 70’s – a great day for taking a long walk which is exactly what we did. This time, I grabbed my phone – not the digital camera -- as I have learned that my incessant taking of photos can be annoying to some. As I walked along. I noticed how the fog changed the appearance of everything. Things I’d seen before somehow looked different shrouded in the low-lying fog. One thing not masked by the dreary morning was the spider web; spider webs everywhere caught up in nature’s beauty. In fact, some of the webs were so beautiful that I had to stop walking and start snapping photos on my phone. Click, click, click.

As you look at the images of the spider webs, what thoughts come to mind? If asked to write a story about how your life and more specifically, how your job search relates to the spider web images, how would you spin your story?

A couple of years ago, I reported that the number of contractors (consultants/self-employed persons) in the workforce was 23-30% of the total workforce. I did a double take when I read that Payscale.com predicts that contract workers will be HALF the workforce in 5 ½ years!

Do you know now which half you will be in? Does it make a difference in terms of what you do now to prepare for this major shift?

The trends we’ve seen in recent years are only accelerating:

- There is a shift from people working for decades at one company to a highly mobile workforce remaining at one company for < 4 years or working brief contracting stints. The workers of the future need new skills to continually market themselves in a highly competitive, fast changing job market.

- The rapid pace of corporate merger & acquisition activity, restructurings, and spin-offs makes for uncertain futures for workers caught up in the changes.

- Industry’s ongoing efforts to automate work and find ever cheaper labor solutions will continue to displace workers and render some jobs obsolete.

Employers are finding that hiring contractors with specialized skills for specific time limited projects and roles helps them be more agile in response to changing global market conditions. This practice also saves the costs of carrying employees with their expensive associated overhead (hiring, training, benefits, etc.). This trend will translate into a strong demand for the right workers, hence the anticipated tsunami of contract workers.

What can today’s workers do to come through the tsunami with a promising future whether they are employees or contractors? Here are the 3 things for the career minded executive, manager, or professional to do NOW to stay relevant:

The REASON this is more important than ever is that in an independent contracting environment you will be marketing yourself as your own brand. That means differentiating yourself from the competition, promoting your competitive advantage, and establishing your value-added worth in the market. (See more about branding in my blog and here).

Once you have articulated your brand, develop your “proof”: those examples of and stories about how you do what you do best for the organization. They are the currency of your brand and demonstrate in a concrete way how you bring and add value to projects. The best way to so this is to follow the C-A-R formula: Challenge (or Situation) – Actions – Results.

The REASON to develop these stories is that they will convey better than any summary, statement, or statistic how you do what you do and why it’s helped the organizations you’ve worked for. You will be making it easy for the employer to grasp why you should be hired for a contract or a job. Stories become a way for people to share information about you. They are memorable and usually have a human, personal, or emotional element. Look for a coming blog post here giving an excellent example of how this works in practice.

Then start pursuing the practices that will ideally become a way of life throughout your career: actively expressing your brand. Do this in your resume and your LinkedIn profile. Develop a presence on the Internet more broadly: social media, blogs, your own website, etc. Promote your brand internally to your company. And continue to network in person and online.

The REASON this is important is that employers seeking contract workers will be scouring the Internet, asking their employees about referrals, and networking to uncover good candidates. That’s what you would do if you were going to hire a lawyer, a solar energy installer, or a home health care nurse. With so much competition you have to stand out (see #s 1 & 2 above ). You can’t afford to be invisible in the work world of the future.

Although preparing in this way now for your future employment may seem daunting, there are plenty of career and branding professionals, blog posts, and websites to help you with each one of these activities. It will pay off for you not just in terms of getting a contract or job or securing a higher compensation but in terms of long-term work satisfaction and excellent work prospects.

“Look not at the days gone by with a forlorn heart. They were simply the dots we can now connect with our present, to help us draw the outline of a beautiful tomorrow." ~ Dodinsky

As a job seeker, have you found yourself saying one (or more) of these statements?

___I don’t like how things are today – everything has changed.

___Job search is ridiculous.

___Social media is stupid.

___I have never had to look for a job; I have always been sought out – until now.

___When I looked for a job 20 years ago, things were different…better…easier.

___In the olden days, I just called up a place and they hired me just because of who I am.

___Things aren’t like they used to be.

___Are you serious about all this branding baloney?

___I have sent out at least 20 resumes and have not gotten any response.

___Look, I was a highly paid executive and I am not interested in learning about job search – I just need you to give me some connections.

___Networking is a waste of time. Been there, done that.

___What is LinkedIn and why do I need to bother with it?

___I don’t know why HR makes it so impossible today – it didn’t used to be that way.

___I don’t understand recruiters – I thought they were supposed to find me a job.

___I am sick and tired of looking for a job – what a waste.

___There are no jobs for me now.

___I used to call all the shots – had a lot of authority – people looked up to me.

As a job seeker, what are you saying to yourself?

Are you stuck in yesterday?

Are you longing for the past and the good old days?

Do you have an expectation that someone, somewhere owes you a job served up on a silver platter?

OR, are you willing to hop on board the Super Competitive Kick Your Backside Job Search Train and get going? If you are willing to let go of the past (as it has passed), here are five very specific ideas to help you begin the process of moving forward:

Be willing to listen and learn from someone who has mastery of the career transition process. It will save you time, money and frustration. Period. Are you familiar with the saying “You don’t know what you don’t know?”

Make a list of every single skill you own and wish to contribute to some organization in the future.

Make a list of what you are “hanging on to” that would behoove you to “let go of” in order to move forward with maximum efficiency.

Know that looking for a job in today’s market is tough; keep telling yourself that you are tougher than the toughest task of today's job search.

Track your progress on a daily basis. If you are not achieving one new thing each day, re-evaluate and refine your strategy to increase your chances of success.

“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” ~~ Author Unknown

Sending your son or daughter off to college is a big deal. It takes lots of planning, organizing and list-making. (This post is not about the gut-wrenching emotion you feel as you drive away from campus, watching her (him) fade into the distance). I remember helping our eldest daughter pack a U-haul to move to Texas to start college. Nope, never mind a suitcase; we packed a U-Haul and a pickup jam-packed with all the stuff we thought she would need to commence her college career. 750-miles later with one tire blowout and one family blow up in 102-degree heat in Kansas, we unpacked the following:

We've been following CareerCrossroads' Source of Hire Survey findings over the past few years. The most recent report in 2013 yields some surprising results and interesting trends. The authors, Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler, begin their report with the caveat that no one should assume that their findings are valid, given the flawed nature of the data available. Despite this fact, I think that some very interesting trends are emerging that the savvy job seeker should take note of. Here are some of them:

- Offshoring may be declining and onshoring growing so don't assume that, if your company is going through a transition, it will be accompanied by offshore outsourcing, as has been the case over the past few years | So keep your eye on opportunities any new merger, acquisition, purchase, or reorganization may provide for you | Talk to everyone | Get creative about your career path within the new entity!

- Job boards, particularly the aggregators Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com, account for 1 out of 6 hires, although this number is complicated by the interactions between social media and other sources and methods of job search

- Social media, although a factor in several other sources of hire, does not in itself constitute a single, pure source of hire to any great degree | We know that 92%+ of recruiters use Linkedin and many use Facebook and Twitter to validate hires they are contemplating as well as to source good candidates

- Employee referrals is still a dominant source of new hires | ERPs - Employee Referral Programs - motivate current employees to make referrals | 25% of new hires results from these referrals | One out of 10 referred candidates gets hired (!)

The really interesting new finding is that the lion's share of jobs is now filled by internal employees! Fully 42% of jobs are filled this way. You can understand the hiring authority's thought process. Employees with a good track record within the company are better bets, they reason. They require less time to acclimate to the culture and to get up to speed with how things are done in the company. Simply put, they are lower risk.

One of my recent clients who was interested in taking his career to the next level and was getting ready to leave the company for another one is now considering shifting to another position with more authority internally. This move would position him to get promoted to the level he is targeting. More and more people are finding that exploring internal opportunities may yield the career growth they are looking for. It certainly is becoming a much easier way to get a job!

What is my takeaway from this necessarily imperfect Survey in terms of how job seekers should adjust their strategies? I suggest that job seekers run, not walk, to implement the following 3-point action plan:

1. Start exploring internal opportunities | This means thinking about possible career paths within your current company that will get you where you want to go, even if it might require an interim step | Talk with HR and create a career development plan with them | Network across departments, divisions, and functions to make your next move | These contacts may be worth their weight in gold when some great opportunity comes up | Don't forget the care and feeding of your network: Reciprocate!

2. Start growing your LinkedIn network | Populate it with employees of companies that interest you, the ones on your Targeted Company List | Join LinkedIn Groups where your target company's employees are members | These tactics will put you in a position to reach out to them when there is a job posted at their company | YOU want to be the one referral out of 10 that gets that great job offer! | NOTE: 1 out of 10 is a fantastically better ratio than the 1 out of +/-250 that you will encounter with most other sources!

3. Expand your social media footprint | Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others let people know about you and let you know the people who can smooth the way to your new job

I will add a 4th that isn't explicitly suggested by the data but which is the wave of the future I think:

4. Set up your own multipage website or blogsite with your entire personal brand profiled | Having a branded online footprint will become increasingly critical to landing the choice jobs of the future!

If you were building a new home, would you put the roof on before you dug the foundation? Would you put the windows in before you had the walls up? Would you install new carpet before the floor was finished? Would you?

I have always found it interesting that some job seekers want to write a résumé before they have carefully considered their next move. Here’s a recent conversation with a job seeker I met at a social outing and the conversation went something like this:

Job Seeker: Yeah, I’d like to pick your brain for a couple minutes….

So what are you thinking about doing for your next job?

Job seeker: I have no clue – I just need a résumé so I can get “out there.”

Are you familiar with your knowledge, skills and abilities and are you comfortable speaking about them?

Job Seeker: Um, well, I haven’t really thought about that.

Do you know how to confidently and efficiently speak about your brand?

Job Seeker: My what?

Have you considered the value you will deliver to an employer?

Job Seeker: Well, like what do you mean?

Can you cite your five best achievements in the last five years?

Job Seeker: Look, all I do is work and take classes – I don’t see why I have to think about all that before I look for a job – or write a résumé. What’s up with the 20 questions?

As a job seeker, I hope you will take some time to consider who you are, what you want, and where you want to go next. Here are some very basic questions to ask yourself as a means of getting started before you hit the streets (or write a résumé).

Who are you?

What do you want? What proof and evidence do you offer that you can do what you say you want?

When asked to describe your five best portable and transferable skills and your three to five top personality traits, what distinct words will you choose and what specific examples will you cite to back up your claims?

Where do you prefer to work, doing what, with whom and in what geographical area?

Why should an employer hire you?

How will you go about preparing for a job search and how will you measure progress?

How much money are you worth to an employer based upon research of at least three reliable sources?

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln